Biopharmaceutical specialist Alchemab Therapeutics has entered into a licensing agreement with pharma giant Eli Lilly for ATLX-1282.
The first-in-class, IND-ready therapeutic antibody is currently being developed to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative conditions.
Eli Lilly will pay up to $415 for ATLX-1282, depending on if the therapeutic meets discovery, development and commercialisation milestones.
Under the terms of the agreement, Alchemab will be responsible for the Phase I clinical trials on ATLX-1282 — after which Eli Lilly will lead all further development and commercialisation.
Through its AI-powered research, Alchemab has identified an antibody found in people with mutations that tend to lead to frontotemporal dementia (FTD), but remain well into old age.
From this antibody sequence, Alchemab was able to identify the target, which is been subsequently been proven to play a role in neuroprotection across multiple neurodegenerative diseases — including FTS and ALS.
This transaction builds on the partnership between the two companies, as Alchemab started a separate discovery collaboration with Lilly in January 2025.
This collaboration centered around the development and commercialisation of up to five novel therapeutic candidates for ALS.
"As the first programme from our novel platform, this is a landmark transaction for Alchemab," noted the company's CEO, Jane Osbourn.
"With Lilly’s deep expertise in neurological conditions, they are ideally placed to speedily advance ATLX-1282 through the clinic, and maximise the potential to help patients."
"By sifting through millions of antibodies, we have identified this target, and we hope to provide treatments across many disease settings with ATLX-1282."
Osbourn also noted that the transaction will support work across Alchemab's pipeline — including metabolic, immunology and oncology programmes — encouraging their progression towards the clinic.